It was foggy and wet, more like rain so I thought I would build an Exhaust whistle . The folks at the antique shop were nice enough to let me measure and take a few pics of the $80 original that had great sound, but broken pieces that hold it together , so It was pretty much a display piece .

List of material:
2 -2-1/2 x 2-1/2 -1/8 inch metal plates (Free from the local Iron shop...thanks guys !)
24 inches 3/4 copper pipe
4- 3/4 inch copper pipe caps
1/4 inch brass pipe 12" long
one piece of 1/4 " all thread
1- 12" piece 3/8 copper tubing
a few 1/4 inch nuts and washers
1- 1" brass pipe cap
Silver solder

Key tools :
drill press
grinder
7/8 drill bit
1- genuine Clean burning propane torch, Bobby
files
die grinder
hammer
punch
etc, etc, etc .....

Supriseingly, not to many swear words and it was easy to tune .

The Pipes are original type length : 4, 5-1/2,6 and 8-1/2 inches long. I made the frames first, then the tubes , then soldered the tubes in the frames . The center 1/4 hole in the frames was tapped to 1/4", and I used the 1/4 brass tubing as spacers and to pretty it up and hide the all thread. I didnt put the bevel and slots till after the tubes were soldered good in the frames.

The secret was 11/16 wide slots, 1-1/16 inch deep,
putting the exhaust nipples 1/2 inch back or so, and keeping the exhaust nozzle holes at about 1/16 of an inch thick .

I slotted the tubing first , then used a punch to pound them down, then cut the sides on the tube. I File the tubes where the exhaust goes across to razor thin.

I used a flare tube to flare the exhaust tubes then I soldered each exhaust tube Into 3/8 holes drilled on an angle into the 1" brass cap. I soldered them independantly and had no problems with the others loosening .

After each tube was soldered , I would crimp it down to 1/16 inch and bend it to give it an approximate angle .I started with the large tube and made it my reference point , assembling it each time and tuning each tube before taking it apart and moving on to the next.

It took about 6 hours , but it sounds great and its very sturdy.

More pictures :

and a few more :

How I tested it as I tuned each pipe: It doesn't take much pressure, less than 20 pounds from the air compressor. I used a brass extension to reach in and give each tube air, one at a time , while I determined whether to bend up or down or side to side . Each tube sounds a bit puny bye its self, but all together , sounds soooo good !

Thanks for this. You have inspired me!
I appreciate the descriptions and pictures to follow.

Dan, you can't fool me. This whistle was obviously made in China.

Seriously, nice work. Looking at whistles and their high prices over the years I've often thought of making one. It's great to see a good example of how to do it.

Bravo! Well done. You can't beat the feeling you get when you declare: "I made it myself". Have you made a valve to operate it? Bill

I have never understood the purpose of an exhaust whistle. Could someone please explain it to me?

Thanks,
Willis

Willis,if you hook it up to your key remote You can find your car in the parking lot easier. Great job Dan.

Cause it's a HOOOT!

Willis - They were originally intended as a "Warning" device used by early motorists to warn pedestrians, oncoming traffic, etc. to beware of the motor vehicle coming at them.

Thanks for the comments Guys ! Bill, I will be making the valve in the future . Not sure if I will make it out of exhaust pipe or Iron pipe. I'm liking the exhaust pipe idea for ease of installation. By the way , If you look at the Pipe on top in the below picture, it is more curved and hits the reed at a straight angle . It is by far the loudest: I would shoot for all of them like this if I was to build another . As I don't want to pay big bucks to plate it , and it will be under the car, I am going to paint it with exhaust paint . Funny you pointed out the "made in china" on the pipe: so did my coworker this morning at the fire station . Guess I should solder over that before I paint it ....LOL !

Heres an aermore whistle in action..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxQeU4BMI1A

Sa-tweet! Very cool, great job. Thanks for sharing.

Dan, that's a great job! I look forward to hearing it once mounted on the T.

I gotta do one. I have pondered it for a long while, but this is very inspiring. Thanks for showing it here. Looks like you did a grand job of it.

Any plans to fab a cut out as stated above? Seems that would be the easy part.

The cut out is done ... I will post in a few days when I can take some pics .....